Sunbeams in a Dark Forest
by MangKulas
Summary: Sequel to Moonlight and Water. Again, Hinata's and Neji's relationship come under focus, forbidden in most cultures but interesting to the lot of us, anyway. Hinata finds that there are many ways to fall in love.
1. Tea

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Author's Note: This is a story, ultimately, about Hinata's and Neji's relationship. But I've always thought that Hinata's sincere admiration for Naruto would create in her conflict of genuinely loving two people. One barely knows that she's alive. The other can't touch her without bringing society down on his head.

**Sunbeams in a Dark Forest**

**CHAPTER 1: ****TEA**

**In the end**, it wasn't a question of whom she loved more or whom she loved best. It was simply that she loved both.

Of course, the result wasn't simple at all. Nowadays, Hinata Hyugaa didn't agonize over her strength so much as her duplicitous heart.

She felt like she was cheating.

It was a stupid thought. She hadn't even confessed her love to Naruto. He wasn't even aware of her love despite how embarrassingly obvious it became whenever she fainted in his presence. How could it be cheating when the person you love doesn't even know you love him?

Logically, Naruto had no exclusive right to her feelings, but Hinata had adored and silently cheered him on for so long that it _felt _like she was cheating.

Worse, she didn't love the other person willingly. The feelings stole into her heart, quietly, slowly, with no permission granted, built over time in small, repeated, increments and in a series of tiny epiphanies like sunbeams in a dark forest.

A lot of them had happened around tea, Hinata thought wryly.

* * *

In the three years that Naruto was gone from Konoha, in the three years that Hinata began to grow into the accomplished chuunin that she would become, there were a lot of times that she shared tea with her cousin, Neji Hyuuga.

How awkward it first had been. She would bring the tea out for her cousin and her father after their training and her father would ask her to sit and share a cup. And silence would linger between the three of them, Hiashi not being a man of many words, Neji and Hinata still teetering on unstable ground after the Chuunin Exams and all that happened after. It wasn't a comfortable silence, at first. Even Hiashi had to clear his throat a few times.

But the day after the miserable failure of Bikochu-retrieval mission, Hiashi ventured to ask about the mission and Hinata's cheerful determination, her disarming admittance of the mission's failure, cracked the dam. When she bought the tea out, Neji asked about Naruto, and they fell to talking about his pranks before, and the Fifth's frustration with him, to about the Fifth, herself, so that a very pleasant afternoon passed by. And a ritual was born.

Sometimes, Hanabi would be present, and the sisters would giggle at something stupid the boys in Hanabi's class had done or something hilarious that Hinata's male teammates said. And Hiashi would mutter under his breath, while Neji carefully drank his tea and kept his eyes inside his cup.

Sometimes, Hiashi and Hinata would leave and there would still be tea left. And the lazy afternoon sun would shine down on Neji and Hinata as they fall into silence, listening to the breeze.

There was that one time. When leaves had started to fall to the ground and the air had become crisper in Konoha. In Hinata's mind, she called it the **tea of sharing a cup**.

Hinata had been leaning against the post holding up the roof of the walkway that went around the open courtyard. Neji was once more sitting beside her. Hanabi had been at the Academy and Hiashi closeted away with elders in another part of the compound.

She'd dropped her tea cup. And it had crashed to pieces on the hardening ground. She had jumped up with alacrity and was prepared to run inside when a hand on her forearm forestalled her. Hinata had looked down at her cousin and saw him offering his cup.

"Just share mine," he said easily, as if he'd always done this before. As if he'd always done this before.

For some reason, it made Hinata think of the Chuunin Exams and all the coldness that had existed between them previous to that day. And ridiculously enough, it filled her eyes with tears.

Her heart had expanded at that moment, at that picture of his hand offering the cup so naturally, that her heart overflowed. Even if she had been on speaking terms with her cousin, it was only now that the full weight of the change had hit her.

Neji had looked up, alarmed, "It's all right. It's just a cup. I'm sure a new one can always be bought."

Hinata had laughed and, impulsively, she had given her cousin a hug.

Neji did not hug her back, but what was important to Hinata was that _he didn't stiffen__ or pull __away_ He just gave her a puzzled look as she sat down.

"I'm sorry, niisama," she said, "I was probably just a little tired. Yes, I'll share the cup if you don't mind."

* * *

Then there had been that time of the **tea of half-smile.**

"Eight birds," Neji said, before a flock of pigeons took flight from the roof that overhung above them. He released his Byakugan.

Hinata gave her cousin a sideways look. "Why are you counting those birds, niisama?"

Neji only shook his head as the quiet settled back into the open courtyard of the compound. "Just testing the blind spot in my Byakugan."

Hinata gave a soft laugh.

"What is it?" Neji asked, frowning.

"Just a thought. Even in our own house, we watch ourselves and think of every possible attack."

"We're shinobi, Hinata-sama. I don't think that can be avoided."

Hinata's eyebrows rose. "Can't be avoided? Do you still believe in fate?"

Neji's eyes widened and Hinata suddenly felt shyness descend, as if the question had crossed some invisible line that she should have avoided. She was about to retract the question, when to her surprise, Neji frowned and started to say something.

"It is…not that. I should know, better than most, about freewill and fate," and he half-smiled.

It was an expression that Hinata had never seen before. It wasn't a smirk. It was a genuine smile that manifested not exactly out of amusement, nor joy. It was a smile conscious of itself. A half-smile. She unconsciously pressed a hand to her stomach as she listened to her cousin and watched that half-smile.

"It is just that…peace is hard-won. It is also hard-kept. I don't want needless sacrifices to happen." And there came a look in his eye that told Hinata about a dead father being remembered.

Hinata raised her cup and drank her tea and half-wished that her cousin would half-smile more often. But she already knew that those smiles would be rare and precious things.

* * *

And there were more. Countless times when something infinitely small happened. As a drop of water would attempt to fill up a well, it would not seem much at the time. But after tens of millions of drops on the well, the water was rising and Hinata felt like she might be at the bottom of that well with no rope and with no handholds in the sides of the well. 

It would have been fine if those feelings had not come to light, and instead just built themselves up inside of her and pretended to be love for a cousin, for a friend. But those unforeseen feelings, built over time, in small increments over things as silly as tea, were laid open for Hinata to see.

This happened in the year Naruto came back.

**END OF CHAPTER 1**


	2. Cold Water

Author's Note: Holidays and family delayed this. Deepest apologies.

**Sunbeams in a Dark Forest**

CHAPTER 2: COLD WATER

It was such a little thing.

It was appalling how something as simple as a look could overturn Hinata's life. It was like a grain of rice tipping the balance in a scale. No, not only tipping the balance, but overturning the whole scale and making it crash to the ground.

Just a look.

Hinata could remember coming home from one of her trainings in the forest, flushed, happy, and at peace with the world. Then, a mere hour later, having nothing make sense in that world.

Dawn had been breaking over the horizon when Hinata walked into the Hyuuga compound; the rising twitter of birds had made her feet light. Her trainings alone in the woods—where under the cover of darkness, she would practice her forms on the water, free and naked as a jaybird—had become even more inspired since her sensei, Kurenai Yuhi, had trained with her in a bath house.

A shadow had walked past her. Rin, an elderly retainer of the Hyuuga clan, walked with a tray of tea cups. Hinata had smiled and lifted her hand in greeting, but the retainer kept her eyes down. It had made Hinata's step falter and her brow crease. Rin was normally a voluble old woman. The Hyuuga heiress had looked after her walking away, but the old woman did not look back. The kunoichi, still frowning, then had continued on to her room to wash and change. All throughout washing, changing, and walking to the dining hall, the heiress crossed retainers and clan members who carried a strange air of uneasiness.

Come breakfast time, her father had shockingly asked Neji, a branch member, to sit beside him, making some in the Main House to mutter with discontent and cast looks on the genius of the Hyuuga clan. But none had raised their voices, for they could feel it too. Although Hiashi and Neji did not look at each other or act any more familiar than usual, it felt as if words had been said and an understanding had been reached.

Hinata had taken her place on the table and sat on her haunches, waiting to be served. She felt her skin prickle and when she had raised her eyes to look down the table, she caught Neji's eyes.

Instantaneously, she had turned hot and then cold. Then, hot again. Then she started to tremble. She had fisted her hands on her lap and looked down at those hands. She faintly heard one of the elders ask her if she felt unwell. But it did not register until Hanabi had elbowed her. And when she did answer the elder—ooh, how she hated what happened—when she did answer, she had stuttered in front of the entire clan. After working so hard for three years to stop her stuttering, a single look brought it out again.

That look. How was she to describe it?

Hinata found herself at a loss to do so after Hanabi had accosted her later in the day and had asked her why she had acted so oddly at breakfast.

Hinata wasn't sure how she could explain it. Words were becoming as slippery and treacherous as when she was younger; and after several tries, Hanabi had cut her off, told her to take a deep breath, and said, "Draw it for me. In your mind."

It was an old trick that one of their retainers used. When they were very little, Rin had found little Hinata trembling and crying in bed one night. It had gotten harder and harder to make Hinata speak, as Hiashi had grown more and more disappointed in Hinata. So that night, Rin had rocked Hinata and whispered, "Close your eyes. Draw it for me. Then tell me what you see."

Hinata had smiled at her sister, shaking her head. She did not take Hanabi's offer literally, but it gave her an idea on how to tell her sister what exactly had happened. So, Hinata began, "You know that a few weeks ago, I'd gone to the Festival of Lights?"

Hanabi nodded. The Festival of Lights was an annual celebration in Konoha that honored the eve of every girl's womanhood. Girls who were fifteen would dress up in their best kimonos and there would be a fair with musicians, performers, delicious food, and at midnight, all the fifteen-year old girls would light a candle.

Hinata continued her story, "Well, Neji-niisama saw me there with Ino-chan. And when Tenten-san asked him to say something nice, seeing as we were all dressed up for the Festival, Neji-niisama said I looked like a glass of cold water on a hot summer's day."

Hanabi's eyebrows had gone up. "Nii-san is such an idiot. That's the strangest compliment—"

"That's not the point, Hanabi." After her younger sister fell silent, Hinata took a deep breath again. "Earlier at that breakfast table, when I had looked up and caught his eyes…It was…" Hinata licked her lips, "I-It was the eyes of someone in the middle of a desert…a desert drier and hotter than anything than the Land of Wind could ever offer."

And that was the closest the Hyuuga heiress could ever say what that look was. So ephemeral. She had just caught her cousin's eyes for a second, before Neji flicked his eyes away quickly, but the way he looked had burned itself into her mind.

Hanabi whistled. Such a boyish thing to do. But it was somehow apt. Her younger sister said quietly, "Well…well." Then she became quiet.

They looked at each other, and no more words were needed.

The End of Chapter 2


	3. Milk

**Sunbeams in a Dark Forest**

CHAPTER 3: MILK

Midnight at the Hyuuga's dwelling meant utter quiet. Although, the busy main streets of the village did not lie very far from the gates, serenity hovered over the place, walled in by the pride and history of the Hyuugas.

Even the retainers, though never especially trained as shinobi, still moved quietly, without a whisper and hardly a stir. Hinata, herself, was a shadow walking the hallways and the corridors. She walked close to the walls, where it was darkest, an unconscious decision borne of her training.

She had come out of her room for a glass of milk.

She would never get to drink the milk.

As she walked back to her room with her glass, as quietly as she came to the kitchen, she heard a faint sound. Like a hand cutting air. A whistle that she associated with the Gentle Fist. Curious, Hinata walked to the source of the sound. She came out to another corridor, to the practice courtyard, and found her cousin training.

She watched him, noting his grace and confidence. For a long time, she had felt afraid and intimidated at every encounter with him. But after the Exams, in the three years since, there had been a hard-earned rapport that grew between them. Hinata mourned that. Now, uneasiness swamped her at the thought of speaking to Neji, remembering as she did what had happened at the Hyuuga breakfast table a few days past.

To her relief, she had not seen her cousin in those days after that breakfast because of a mission he was sent to fulfill. But he had just returned home this afternoon and she had purposely avoided him. For what could she do? Or say, for that matter?

Hinata had been afraid of what she would see in her cousin's eyes, of the rising confusion within her, and most of all, of the unwanted little memories that floated in her mind. Little memories of Neji, tinged differently now, because of _that look_. What was worse, those little memories did not feel like they were transformed or changed, but like they were laid bare for what they really were. So that it wasn't as if Hinata looked back with different eyes, but as if she had opened her eyes and saw those memories for the first time.

"Hinata-sama?"

The heiress jerked and almost spilled her milk. She turned red instantly, and felt the panic lick at her stomach. She held a hand to her stomach and regulated her breathing.

Neji drew closer. He had taken off his forehead protector, and the tattoo gleamed in the half light. He was frowning.

"F-forgive me, nii-sama." She paused. _Don't stutter!_ "I was getting something to drink and I heard a noise…"

Neji gave her a look. "You came out by yourself? In your robe? Hinata-sama, what if there were hostile ninja around? Ones trying to kidnap you?"

A cold wind went past and the heiress pulled her robe closer, conscious now of what the thin, white yukata she was to sleep in. "I-I am a ninja, as well, nii-sama. And," her voice grew stronger, "and a chuunin now."

Naji raised an eyebrow which made the Hyuuga heiress stiffen. "I don't think I am so helpless," she added.

Neji's lips thinned. He climbed the walkway and stood in front of her.

Hinata looked up at him, wanting to step back, but rebelling. Fifteen years! Fifteen years, she had worked so hard to be strong like Naruto. It should count for something! But the glass trembled in her hand as she looked up, into her cousin's eyes. They were shining, and there was _that look_ again. The heiress found she could not breathe, not so much for _that look_, but for the despair that went with it.

Neji Hyuuga looked vulnerable. Despair leaked from his eyes even as steel coated his soft voice, "Helpless? You don't think you're…helpless… " and he drew out the last word.

It made Hinata shiver.

Neji put his hands out and laid them flat against the wall, trapping Hinata between. "Hinata-sama, how would you have been able to stop several male ninja? Can you stop one?"

Hinata licked her lips. It was a mistake. It drew Neji's eyes, and he hissed. Hinata jerked and almost lost hold of her glass of milk. But all Neji did was to close his eyes and rest his forehead against hers, rendering the heiress completely still. He drew a shuddering breath, held it, and at his exhale, whispered something. Something that made Hinata lift her hand to hesitantly touch his rigid arm.

"Nii-sama?" she whispered. Her stomach was clenched hard, and there was this unbearably tight feeling in her chest.

"Don't." Neji repeated. Still very softly. Still with his eyes closed. Still with his tattooed forehead against hers. "Don't." He sounded as if he was pleading for his life.

Hinata, unable to bear the desolation in that word, did the only thing she could. For only the second time in fifteen years, she wrapped her arms around him again. She spilled the milk, but neither of them noticed.

Neji's arms came around her, as well. And his grip gradually tightened. But strangely enough, the pressure in Hinata's chest eased.

She sighed. Quietly. No words. No words. Because if she or Neji stopped to think, they would both see that this was not the impulsive hug of a cousin, or the comfort of a friend. This was something else. Something dangerous. So there should be no words.

After all, it was such a small thing. Such a small thing.

So they stood as such. Hinata, pressing her face into the dip of Neji's chest, just below the shoulder, the glass in her hand upended over the floor. Neji, the back of his robes and long hair soaked from the milk and head buried in Hinata's shoulder.

That night, when Hinata went to sleep, nudged off to her room by Neji, she did not want to think anymore. But she could feel Neji's warmth lingering. And she dreamed of him.

Later, much, much later, Neji told her that after that night, the smell of milk always reminded him of her. After that night, he said quite dryly, he never thought of milk quite in the same way again.

THE END OF CHAPTER 3


	4. Juicepack

**Sunbeams in a Dark Forest**

CHAPTER 4: Juicepack

A hug.

How much of a difference could it have really made? It should be nothing. It _was_ nothing.

But Hinata knew well that that wasn't true. Everything felt different now. Even the way the air smelled when she woke in the morning was different.

Now, the faintest breeze made her skin tingle.

Now, whatever she ate had to be chewed slowly and carefully, because the flavors would explode in her tongue.

Now, the patter of the rain hitting the roof could entrance her, making her late for training.

It was as if the Byakugan's power had spread to her tongue, skin, and ears. She could feel so much more, taste everything more intensely, and hear music wherever she went.

Time also seemed to behave differently. It would, occasionally, slow down for Hinata. Training with Neji these days was like moving in a dream. Hinata would be so sensitive that having Neji correct her stance, having him come behind her, have his hands slide down her arms, have his scent drift so close, his breath tickling her nape, did odd things to Hinata. She could hear her every heartbeat thud painfully in her chest. Her breath would be caught in her throat. And how she blushed with him now.

"Are you thinking of Naruto, Hinata-sama?" Neji whispered into her ear.

Hinata nearly jumped, and her cousin unconsciously tightened his hands on her arms. She licked her lips. "No, nii-sama. Why would you ask that?"

Neji was silent as he rearranged her stance, a nudge here with his leg, his hands positioning her hands. After awhile he finally spoke, "You're blushing."

And Hinata wished she could think of something else to say. But her tongue felt cleaved to the roof of her mouth and she knew that he knew _why _she was blushing.

Neji moved away from her, coming around and taking his own stance. "He's back to the village, already."

Hinata blinked, "Team Kakashi's returned?" She smiled.

Neji moved. Viper-quick, he attacked Hinata with a series of blows to her arms and her torso. The Hyuuga heiress was able to block each one, but surprise at the news of Naruto's return made her a second late, and she was unable to return an attack. She was thrown to the ground by a sweeping kick in five seconds flat.

"You cannot afford to be distracted, Hinata-sama!" snapped the older Hyuuga.

Hinata scrambled to her feet, hanging her head in shame. "Yes, nii-sama."

Neji settled back on his heels. He exhaled, shaking his head. He looked at her carefully for a second or two. "They were unable to retrieve Sasuke is what I hear."

And there was that quick clutch in her heart, in empathy for Naruto. The brother he never had. That was what Sasuke had been. Not for the first time, Hinata wished she had had more courage to have walked up to Naruto when they were little—simply to have walked up to him—and to have said hi.

"Hinata-sama?"

Hinata looked up. She saw the worry in Neji's eyes, and felt the cloud billow in her heart. "I—I have to go, nii-sama." She turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

She turned her head to look at Neji. "Um…buying juice." And then she ran.

* * *

"I hate myself." Hinata murmured. She was hiding behind a tree in front of the hospital, watching Naruto as he glumly sat in the wide, sweeping steps of the hospital. What exactly was she feeling for Neji? And how was that different from what she was feeling for Naruto? 

Sakura and a black-haired, pale-skinned young man joined Naruto on the steps. From where Hinata was hiding, she could faintly hear the rough bantering that passed for affection between Sakura and Naruto. The strange young man simply watched at first, with a curiously intent look on his face. As if he was studying them. Then he spoke, and words drifted to Hinata like "friends" and "nicknames."

Hinata sighed and laid her head against the tree. "Idiot." She said to herself. "You are a complete idiot."

"What for?"

Hinata gasped as she whirled, but it was drowned out by Sakura's outraged yell.

Neji was standing behind her, looking at her with his arms folded. He looked beyond her shoulder to the three people on the steps of the hospital.

"Nii-sama."

Neji looked back at her. "I thought you were buying juice."

Hinata automatically lifted the grocery bag. "I had to buy the juicepack instead of the bottled ones."

Suddenly, and quite shockingly, Neji started to laugh.

The Hyuuga heiress, even more alarmed at this than at Neji's anger, shrank back to the tree. Neji, spying her face, started to laugh even harder. He took a step closer as his laughter settled, and rested his forehead against hers, one hand flat against the tree. Hinata went still. _This has happened before_, she thinks.

"I—can't stop myself." Neji said, closing his eyes. And he wasn't laughing anymore. "I am not a fool, Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama would activate the curse seal if he knew what my thoughts are like. And you, you still have eyes for Naruto. But, I," and he opened his eyes and something he saw made him pause.

Hinata's pale lavender eyes were focused on his mouth. "I…sometimes," her voice came out so soft, so soft. "I think, I hate myself. To have begun to think of you when I...Naruto…" and his name was barely there as the tip of her tongue touched her lower lip.

And the space between their lips was no longer there. The juicepack, still in its plastic, hit the ground with a soft thud at their feet. And a very faint thought crosses Hinata's mind: _it's a good thing they weren't the bottled _ones, before the world slowly faded away as Neji gathered Hinata in his arms, and Hinata clung to the front of his robe.

The leaves of the trees in Konoha shuddered in the wind, rustling, rustling. They all whispered to one another, but Hinata and Neji heard nothing but the rasp of clothing and the heartbeat of the other.

END OF CHAPTER 4


	5. UNTIME or Drunk Without Sake

Author's Note: Mild spoilers for Naruto Chapter 314 and above. And the Dog in the Sky is made up, although, Sirius (Dog Star), and the Canis Major (Big Dog ) constellation, has inspired a lot of folk tales.

**Sunbeams in a Dark Forest**

CHAPTER 5: UNTIME or Drunk Without Sake

It seemed as if the Lord of Chaos had cast his shadow over the world.

A terrifying pair from Akatsuki had surfaced and obliterated a temple in the Land of the Fire.

The Hidden Village of the Leaf was retaliating with a team of chuunin and jounin.

Everywhere, shinobi villages were quietly arming themselves, nervous and uneasy.

But all of that did not matter to Hinata or Neji. The world was background now, muted and unimportant. They had created a world that shut everything out but themselves, stopped time itself whenever they were together. And while it was not easy at all to meet where there would be no eyes to pry and mouths to whisper behind cupped hands, Hinata had her solitary trainings to excuse all the meetings with Neji. And Neji was a jounin, allowed a few more privileges, more privacy, outside of his missions.

They would seek each other out in the shadows of the forest surrounding the Hidden Village of Konoha. They would find the most remote, untouched places as possible, where sunlight streamed down to dance all over the foliage and the ground.

The first time, though, had not been on purpose. Hinata had just truly gone on one of her solitary trips after the kiss in front of the hospital, trying to calm her mind. It seemed that every time she or Neji tried to put their relationship back in an acceptable track, something would happen that would not only reinforce their feelings, but intensify it. Even as she trudged through between the trees, drawing away from the main road, she had begun to…ache. For the sight of an inscrutable expression. For the pearl-tinged eyes that only laughed around her, that thirsted for her. For the certain warmth in his skin. It was getting so that, for the first time, she was thankful of not seeing Naruto around. She did not want to face Naruto with Neji in her mind. Irrational, but there you go.

Distracted as she had been, Hinata had let her guard down for a moment and tripped on the vine undergrowth. Afterward, she had felt like an incredible idiot. But at that moment that she had tripped, there had been only absolute surprise. She remembered feeling a chakra that she was quite familiar with. Then Neji was there. And she was in his arms.

"Hinata-sama, if you are going to injure yourself, let a hostile ninja do it, not a dead plant."

And Hinata, for the life of her, could only look up at him, stunned, her cheeks warming up in embarrassment. Neji tipped his head down, and Hinata finally tore her eyes away to look down at what he was pointing at. Down on the ground, there was a good-sized stone hidden by dead leaves that would have bashed her head well and good if Neji hadn't saved her from falling.

"Oh. Ah, thank you, nii-sama. But," Hinata looked back up at him, "what are you doing here?" She gestured at the shadowy woods around them.

Neji colored. He brusquely disengaged from her. "Come back from a mission," he muttered. "Felt you from afar."

Hinata cupped her mouth, hiding a smile. Her cousin glared at her suspiciously, "You almost got yourself seriously injured," he said, sounding almost defensive.

"And I'm glad you saved me." Hinata replied solemnly as she took her hand down. "Actually, it's quite convenient that you found me. I've wanted to show you something for quite awhile now. Will you come, niisama?" She held out her hand.

And the sun shifted in the sky, and a sunbeam moved to light her hand. It felt, ridiculously, like a portent. Neji shook his head, clearing his mind, and took her hand firmly. _There will be no regrets_, he thought. _If there was anything left that I believe to be inevitable, it is this._

* * *

That first time, Hinata showed Neji a tiny, charming waterfall hidden away. They took off their sandals, rolled up their pants and wet their feet, sitting side by side. The afternoon passed by lazily, as Hinata let her head fall on Neji's shoulder, and Neji's arm crept around her shoulders. When dusk came, Hinata made the campfire, and much to her surprise, Neji volunteered to cook. He cooked his leftover rations for them. 

It was leftovers, but it was one of the most delicious meals of her life. It was the Byakugan spreading to her tongue again, where every bite she took felt as if her mouth was alive. It felt as if she could even taste Neji's fingers from when he prepared the food.

When they had dimmed the fire to watch the stars, Neji had very practically suggested for her to sleep beside him. It was going to be a cold night, after all, he reasoned. So, Hinata hid her smile again and went to lie down beside him. Neji draped the blanket over them both and draped his arms around her, pulling her against him to let her head rest on his chest. And they gazed up at the stars.

When Hinata started telling Neji a funny story about a dog-shaped constellation (something that Kiba had told her once), Neji pressed his lips against her hair. The heiress could feel the very slight movement of his lips that passed for a smile at every ridiculous antic of the Dog in the Sky. And when she finished the story with a flourish, with the dog tricking the Old Man of the Mountain to finally let him pass into the Sky, Neji's chest rumbled with laughter. He turned to his side, laying Hinata's head on the bedroll, and tilted Hinata's face for his lips to trail down from her forehead, to her nose, to her lips.

Neji sweetly coaxed those lips open and smoothly slid his tongue into her mouth. Hinata felt her muscles liquefy, intoxicated by the taste and feel of his tongue moving over hers. His body leaning over hers, half covering her, felt hot, and so Hinata's hands moved to hold onto his shoulders and back, feeling as if she was on a boat that was slowly swaying over the waves of a deep ocean on a windless, humid day. It was like slowly, tortuously falling. When Neji finally lifted his head, his hair tie had come loose with her fingers and Hinata's lips were red.

He was looking down at her, and Hinata saw that burning intensity again in his eyes, the man on the desert. "Sleep by me tonight, Hinata."

And she nodded, "Yes," she agreed softly.

They fell asleep still wrapped together.

* * *

Their every trip to the woods was an enchanted time for both. Indeed, one could say it was _un-_time. Un-time. Because when they stepped into the woods, the world outside faded, time stood still and whatever they said, or did, or even thought while in the woods was washed away whenever they returned to the village, when time started to flow again. So it did not matter what they said, or did, or thought. They could say anything, do anything, without fear of reprecussions. And it was at these moments that they were freer than they had ever been. 

It was in the woods that Neji whispered to Hinata how he couldn't drink milk anymore without thinking of her. It was in the woods that Neji finally confessed how he had followed Hinata one night (prompted by Hiashi-sama's concern, in Neji's defense) and saw her dance on top of the water, sans clothing. It was in the woods that Hinata gave a present to Neji, dancing for him, on top of the water, sans clothing, one moonless night. And Neji used the Byakugan to watch her chakra-outlined body swivel and leap in the darkness.

All of this they managed to do because the trips into the forest were un-time. It was as if Hinata and Neji were getting drunk on their time in the woods, so that everything happening outside (the Akatsuki, an imminent war) did not matter.

But, of course, Time cannot be stopped forever. Sobriety always comes.

It would be blood that would reach in and smash their world.

THE END OF CHAPTER 5


	6. BLOOD or the Bitter Cup

Author's Note:

**Major Spoilers for Naruto Chapter 328**. I truly apologize, this story just took a life of its own.

I have to say that the idea of un-time (from the last chapter) is not originally mine. It was something I picked up from a romantic movie that was set in Victorian England, about a man hiring a woman to bear his child, then later unwittingly hiring the same lady to be his daughter's governess (he didn't get a look at her face when they did it, as it was dark and all).

As well, I was unable to acknowledge **Folle** in my last chapter. I am rectifying it here. Thank you, **Folle**. This chapter would not have taken shape without your advice.

And last, but not least, a thank you to my younger sister, who looks at my writing and cries, "This sucks!" She improves my writing even as I snipe at her childishly.

­­

**Sunbeams in a Dark Forest**

CHAPTER 6: BLOOD or Bitter Cup

_That bastard's blood had a different color from sensei's,_ Ino had said to Sakura. _But sensei's blood kept flowing with his_, she had added. Then, she broke down in Sakura's arms.

Hinata, feeling like an intruder, had nevertheless laid a hand on Ino's back. Ino needed her friends at that moment, even if it had begun as a report from one medic to another, one ninja to another.

Afterwards, Hinata had come by Kurenai-sensei's home. And seeing Kurenai's blank, blank eyes had made Hinata seek out Neji.

Wandering the empty hallways of the Hyuuga home before the funeral for another Sarutobi, she recklessly went into Neji's room.

Halfway dressed in mourning clothes, Neji had paused and looked at her. And said nothing as he walked to her. And embraced her. And waited.

Hinata's hands slid around his bare back and she held on with such ferocity that her nails left crescent marks. But Neji said nothing. And waited.

"I-is there ever l-love without loss?" Hinata said to his chest, voice tinged with despair.

And Neji took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "No."

He felt, more than heard, the catch in her throat. Needing to give her comfort, he leaned down and fiercely kissed her, plundering her mouth.

Hinata took it, as she stood on tiptoe and welcomed him, tongue tangling with his, her hands restlessly moving to grip his shoulders.

Neji stroked her hair, fingers moving through the strands to touch her nape, his other hand cupping her face. He slanted the kiss, delving deeper, wanting and wishing for more.

Neither Hinata nor Neji heard the soft slide of the door, but the sharp gasp made them jump apart guiltily.

Hanabi stood at the doorway, eyes wide, mouth open.

"Hanabi, where are they?"

When that calm voice floated from the corridor, Hinata felt herself go cold.

Hanabi whirled at Hiashi's voice, "Oh, Father!" she said brightly, "Hahaha…wouldn't you know it? Oneechan walked in on Neji-niisan changing, you should have heard niisan's girly squeal…"

Hanabi's voice trailed off as she was swept to the side and there on the doorway of Neji's room, stood Hiashi. And Hinata saw him look at her lips, so red now. And he looked at Neji's bare shoulders, bearing the imprint of Hinata's hands.

The Hyuuga heiress cast her eyes down, unable to look at her father in the eyes, her face burning in the oppressive silence that followed. Her insides were clenching so hard that they hurt, just like the way it used to when her father looked at her in training.

"Get dressed, Neji-kun," Hiashi's voice cracked like a whip, breaking the silence of the room, barely suppressed fury channeled into his chilly voice.

Hinata saw, in the periphery of her eyes, Neji picking up his black robe, shrugging into it and then…moving towards her. _What was he doing? _She fully turned to him, and found the Hyuuga genius take his place by her, shoulders thrown back, and chin leveled. The sight…loosened something in Hinata.

"As for you, Hinata," and Hinata finally looked at her father, her color receding. "Go back to your room with Hanabi," the chill now in her father's voice could have frozen the entire Land of the Wind twice over.

Behind Hiashi, Hinata could see her sister was barely breathing, knuckles white on the screen door.

For a moment, Hinata only looked at her father. Then, she shook her head, "F-father, If y-you need to s-speak to one of us," she stopped—_don't stutter, don't stutter—_and took a deep breath. "I think…it is best that you speak to the both of us."

Hanabi's eyes could not have gone any wider, and Hiashi's mouth could not have tightened any more.

And almost, Hinata could feel the fierce pride from Neji as a grunt of approval escaped from him. That alone kept her from collapsing in terror, although Hiashi's face whitened in rage.

"You think you two are being very brave?" Hiashi's mouth stretched in a parody of a smile, "Hanabi, go back to your room."

Hanabi, gnawing on her lip, nodded and turned to leave. But before she went, Hiashi's hand shot out and clamped down on her shoulder. She gasped and looked up at her father, who leaned in close, "You will say nothing, Hanabi. Do you hear me?"

Her younger sister nodded again, slowly. She sent them one more look, eyebrows drawn in worry, before she stepped out and closed the screen door behind her.

"Have you touched your cousin, Neji?" It was said so quietly, so ominously.

Neji barely blinked. "I have—kissed her."

Hiashi's lips peeled back in fury…and Neji fell to his knees, howling, the seal glowing in his forehead.

"Father!" Hinata shrieked. She knelt, panic rising, pulling the struggling Neji against her, "Father, please stop! Please! Please! I'm sorry. Stop it." And in the time that that seal glowed with Neji's voice rising louder and louder in her ears, his face twisted in pain, it seemed like an eternity.

The seal stopped glowing, and Neji was left trembling in Hinata's arms.

"Get away from him, Hinata!"

"I-I, please F-father..." Hinata shook as Neji clung to her waist, his face pressed against her stomach.

Hiashi took a shuddering breath, closing his eyes and holding himself still. And in that moment, he looked tired. "You are to be the leaders of the next generation…your names must be above reproach. Will the Hyuuga be led by an incestuous traitor and a whor—"

"Don't…" Neji's voice was hoarse, but as the Hyuuga genius disengaged himself from Hinata, pushing himself up to his knees, he turned to Hiashi with his eyes clear and diamond-hard, "don't call Hinata names."

Hiashi looked at them, face expressionless now. "You will be sent on a mission, Neji-san. After the funeral, you will be sent on a mission for a very, very long time. Away from Konoha."

Then, he turned away from them, as if he could not bear to look at them, anymore. "Say your farewells now," Hiashi added, voice becoming harsh. "After today, you will never see each other again."

They said nothing as Hiashi left the room. They stayed on the floor, Neji kneeling and Hinata sitting.

For a moment, all that could be heard in the room was the wind sighing its way through the cracks of the windows.

"I love you, Hinata," Neji said softly, eyes still on the door.

Hinata pushed herself up, and knelt behind Neji, putting her arms around him and laying her head on his shoulder. "I love you, too…"

END OF CHAPTER 6


	7. HOPE or Spring in a Bottle

Author's Note: **Major Spoiler for ****Naruto ****Chapter 354**** and 383**. At last, we reach the end. To all those who alerted, or put this in their favorites list, and to those who reviewed, thank you. Later chapters in canon will probably blow this to smithereens, but I hope you can still enjoy it. This is, after all, just what might have happened.

**Sunbeams in a Dark Forest**

CHAPTER 7: HOPE or Spring in a Bottle

Hinata Hyuuga did not cry when Neji left.

She hadn't cried when her father had said to Kurenai-sensei that he had no use for her. She hadn't cried when she broke both of her arms in a mission before. She was not about to start with Neji's departure.

At least, not in public.

He had said, before he left, to keep Naruto alive. Keep Naruto alive. To anyone else, it would have been strange parting words. But Neji did not have to explain to Hinata.

She was the last person in the world who needed an explanation. She was the one, after all, who had watched Naruto since they were little.

Both of the Hyuugas understood that Naruto would be the one to bring change. Revolution would come on Naruto Uzumaki's heels like a puppy trailing after its master. Both of them knew that Naruto would smash the cage of the Hyuuga, like no one else can.

He had promised it to Neji. And Naruto would never go back on his word.

* * *

They were on a mission to capture Itachi. To retrieve Sasuke once more, they were going after his brother. In the one night that they managed to camp, Hinata had stood watch at the darkest time of the night. Everyone was fast asleep and the only thing to keep her company was the stirring of the breeze. Until Naruto had stumbled awake. 

Even in the dark, Hinata saw his eyes shining, determined. He stood not three feet away from her, watching the horizon. As if even without any dojutsu, he could still see Sasuke running to find Itachi.

"Naruto." Even now, Hinata wondered why she had called out his name at that moment. Perhaps, because even though he looked so determined, he also looked lonely.

Wonder of all wonders, Naruto's eyes swiveled to look at her. He had managed to find her, even in the poor light. He nodded to her. "Hinata-chan."

Hinata stood from the deep shadow of the tree, "We will catch up with him." And her words were never more sure.

Naruto nodded, a quick smile lighting his face. "Yes." No hesitation. His word was as sure as it had always been.

"Do you know," Hinata said softly, "that I liked you ever since we were young," Hinata took a moment, surprised at herself.

Perhaps, because they were in the woods, it was in the dead of the night, and the world was still and asleep that she said it. Finally. Perhaps, because this felt more like a dream that she had found the courage. Or perhaps, because it did not matter anymore.

It was the only thing that she could have said that took Naruto's mind completely off Sasuke. He stood there, gaping at her like a fish out of water, totally silent.

Hinata cupped her mouth, giggling.

"Eh, don't joke around like that, Hinata-chan." Naruto said, scratching his head as he squinted at her.

Hinata shook her head, "you are so strong. Back then and now. Everyone in the village wouldn't acknowledge you, but you worked so hard and made everyone see you. I was so weak, so unsure of myself, that seeing that, seeing you, made me want to become stronger. To become like you, to be noticed by you…'

Naruto opened his mouth. And closed it again. Opened it. Closed it. He really was like a fish out of water.

Hinata smiled and turned to the horizon, crossing her arms. "I fell in love with Neji, though," she said conversationally. "And…Father has banished him for it." Then, she fell silent, pale as a ghost and luminescent eyes wide and deep as a sorrowful sea.

"Then," Naruto found his voice, "I'll definitely get him back, too."

Hinata's head whipped around to where Naruto was standing, and her eyes filled. But she smiled. Naruto, for all that he was dense, for all that he was called an idiot, knew the right thing to say when it was most important.

"Thank you," Hinata said softly.

* * *

_"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried as the Kage Bunshin disappeared in a puff of smoke__ and Naruto slammed hard into the ground_

_"Relax, Hinata,"__Sakura called out. "__It'll take more than that to stop Naruto. You just keep your eyes on the enemy, Hinata."_

Sakura-chan was right. She would keep her eyes on the enemy. She had to keep Naruto alive. He still had to bring shinobi back home to Konoha. So she would keep him alive.

* * *

It would be years. Three, as well, in fact. The time that Naruto had been away was the same amount of time that Neji was gone from Konoha. 

The world was still chaotic, but not as much as it would have been had the Akatsuki had their way. People still died, comrades still fell, but not as many if the shinobi nations hadn't stood in Akatsuki's way. Day after day, it seemed like one endless battle.

Hinata received word from Neji only once in those entire three years. A clear bottle that could fit in the hand of one's palm was handed to her by one of the returning shinobi. From Neji-senpai, the young shinobi had muttered, scratching at the babyfat in his face. The shinobi they sent into dangerous missions got younger, it seemed, every year.

Hinata had looked at the clear bottle, and there was no tiny piece of paper, no writing. There was only a flower, a weed even. White baby's breath that was suspended inside the small bottle. And Hinata understood. It seemed, that between her and Neji, words were often unnecessary. Again, she knew what he meant without an explanation.

Hope. He had bottled spring for her. So she could have hope in the middle of this endless, bloody battle.

And when he did return, he came to her when she was by herself, on one of her solitary trips to the forest. She was kneeling on by the side of a stream, where light filtered through the leaves of the trees that grew right up to the embankment. She was staring down at the water, when another reflection came and stood over her.

Hinata did not turn, but she did put her hands to her eyes. She felt herself slightly shaking. She was turning hot and cold, in turns, just like the first time that he had looked at her with the eyes of a man in a desert.

She felt him kneel behind her and take her shoulders, and press his lips to her nape.

And all the years melted away, and the shaking went away. So that all that was left was Neji. She turned and threw her arms around him, pressing her face into his chest, inhaling great, deep breaths.

Neji, face harder, more careworn, but sporting a half smile, looked down at her and stroked her hair. "The elders of the Main Branch," he began, "have seen a lot of the Hyuuga die in the years past. Strong leadership for the future is needed, more than ever. The Hokage has decreed that Hyuuga's genius be joined in marriage to the heiress. Hinata," he lifted Hinata's face, streaked with tears. "Will you, please—"

"I am not going to marry you just because Naruto says so."

The world stopped for Neji.

He looked down at her as the tenderness practically seeped out. "What—"

"Ask me…for yourself, Neji."

Neji exhaled, his eyes closing. He pulled her against him as he shook his head. "Hinata, you will be the death of me."

Hinata smiled. "That's only fair. You did try to kill me in our first Chuunin Exams."

Neji's laughter rang out in the forest, disturbing even the birds in a tree. The birds took flight and the sound reached far up, following them flying to the sky.

END of Chapter 7

**End of Sunbeams in a Dark Forest**


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